Neom and fellow-Saudi firm DataVolt announced on 10 February that they have signed an agreement for the phased development of an AI data center in the under-development Neom region on Saudi Arabia’s northern Red Sea coast. A $5bn first phase entails construction of a 1.5GW facility at the coastal industrial hub of Oxagon by 2028.
Neom says that Oxagon will lease DataVolt the land for the facility and provide it with infrastructure support. “The ambition is for the facility to be entirely powered by renewable energy, providing a fully integrated, end-to-end data center solution. The project will utilize advanced cooling technologies and is designed to operate at net zero,” says Neom. But while Neom is planned as a 100% renewably powered region (MEES, 2 August 2024), it will initially rely on receiving electricity through Saudi Arabia’s hydrocarbon-reliant grid. A first 3GW HVDC link is due online in 2027 (MEES, 18 August 2023). Initially, therefore, the data center will receive power generated from thermal plants. (CONTINUED - 227 WORDS)